Goddess
Durga arrives to her earthly abode with her four children, Laskhmi,
Saraswati, Kartik and Ganesh. We worship her as the Goddess
of Shakti who overpowered the evil to establish peace and prosperity
on earth. She is also the daughter making her yearly visits at her
parents place along with her children for four days. The Goddess
is worshipped in various forms during her stay here. One of those
forms is the "Kumari", the Virgin form. This mould
is the most powerful form of Mahashakti.A
girl aged between one to sixteen, symbolising the Kumari form of
Devi is worshipped in front of the idol of Goddess Durga. The Kumari form
of the Goddess was emphasised as the most dynamic form by the devotees
since

yester years as Kumari Shakti is the basis of all creations. Our
scriptures have emphasised Kumari Puja particularly to evolve the purity
and divinity of the women of the society. Diminishing the larger than
life stature of the Goddess to someone much nearer and closer is the real
reason for this form of worship. Sri RamKrishna had said that Kumari is
another form of Devi Durga and he himself worshipped Sarada Ma as Kumari.
To imagine the Goddess in the mould of a Kumari is an age old concept.
In Mahabharata Arjuna had performed Kumari Puja. The Puranas mention the
Kumari form of Chandika.

Selection
of Kumari______________The scriptures
mention the great care with which the Kumari is selected to be worshipped
as the earthly representative of Devi Durga. The qualities required
in the girl has to match the dynamism, purity and serenity of the
Goddess. A calm, serene and an unmarried girl with a bright
disposition between one to sixteen years, who has not yet reached
her puberty and is bereft of desire, worldly pleasures and anger is
the right requisite for the Kumari Puja.

Depending
on the age of the girls they are worshipped in the various forms of the
Goddess. A one year old girl is worshipped in the Sandhya form of theDevi while a two
year old is worshipped in the Saraswati mould of the Devi. A three year
old girl is worshipped in the Tridha form of Durga and a four year old
is worshipped in the Kalika mould of the Devi. Subhaga and Uma are the
forms of Durga for a five and a six year old respectively.

Malini
form of the Goddess represents a seven year old while Kujjika represents
a eight year old girl. Kalsondarbha and Aparajita stands for a ten year
old girl and an eleven year old girl. Bhairavi is represented by a twelve
year old girl and Mahalakhmi by a thirteen year old girl. Pitnayika, Khetragya
and Ambika by a fourteen, fifteen and sixteen year old girl respectively.

Worshipping
The Kumari________________
Kumari Puja is held on Ashtami or sometimes Nabami. Kumari Puja
is performed in Annapurna, Jagatdhatri and even Kali Puja as without
Kumari Puja, the yagna remains incomplete. In the dawn of Ashtami
or Nabami, the Kumari is bathed in Ganga water and is clad in
a red benarasi saari. She is then adorned with flowers and jewelry,
alta is applied to her feet and a 'tilak' of sindur on her forehead.
The young Kumari fasts the whole day until the puja is over. On a decorated
chair she is made to sit before the goddess and a flower from the Devi's
hand is placed in her hand. Placed
before her are flowers, bel (wood apple) leaves, incense sticks, lamps,
'noibiddo' and other

things required for puja. The purohit then chants
the mantras and the sound of dhak fill the atmosphere. After the puja
the divinity of the Goddess Durga is said to be seen in the girl. It is
customary to gift the girl with gold, silver and clothes. To gift the
Kumari is considered to be a pious act.

Kumari
Puja is very much prevalent in Belur Math. In 1902, Swami Vivekananda
performed Kumari puja for the first time in Belur. In the premises of
the Math, in the mandap, in the presence of Sarada Ma, Swamiji worshipped
nine Kumari girls. He offered pushpanjali at their feet, gave them sweets
and 'dakshina' (gift). He touched their feet after the completion of the
puja. Later with meditation and mantras he worshipped Sarada Ma as Goddess
Durga.